Switch for telephone-circuits



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G. L. AND-BBS. Switches for Telephone Circuits. N0. 228,294. Patented June .1, I880.

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G. L. ANDBRS. Switches for Telephone Circuits. No. 228,294. Patented June 1,1880.

PATENT GEORGE L. ANDERS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SWITCH FOR TELEPHONE-CIRCUITS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,294, dated June 1, 1880.

Application filed December 13, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. ANDERS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Switches for Telephone- Oircuits, of which the following is a specification.

In the use of the district-telephone system a station establishes connection with the line in and the central office much oftener than with a station on the line out, and farther from the central office, and consequently a switch is desirable in which, in its usual position, the simple removal of the telephone from its support will automatically make the desired connection with the central oftice, but which, in case it may be desired to communicate with a station on the line out, will admit of being changed in position, so that the removal of the telephone from its support will automatically establish connection with the line out.

The switch which forms the subject of the present application is intended for use at the intermediate stations of district-telephone systems, and is an improvement on the switch patented by Thomas A. Watson, November 5, 1878, No. 209,592, and by 1-1. L. Roosevelt, May 27, 1879, No.215,837, which switch is adapted only for terminal stations, and in which switch the removal of the telephone from its support automatically establishes a circuit from line to earth through the telephone, and the replacement of the telephone on its support cuts out the telephone and establishes a circuit from line to earth; and in this improvement, though the removal of the telephone'in the normal condition of the switch automatically connects the telephone to f line in and the central office, and the connection through the station with line in and the central oflice is always automatically restored by the replacement of the telephone on its support, means are provided whereby the telephone can be connected at will with the line out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view, in perspective, of the front of this switch. Fig. 2 is a view, in elevation, of the back ofthe switch. Fig. 3 is a detail view ofa part of the lever which supports the telephone. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the electrical connections.

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section, and Fig. 6 a perspective rear view of the switch.

In these several figures the same letters refer to the same parts.

Referring to the drawings, A is a block of wood or of some other suitable non-conductin g material, which supports the several parts of the apparatus. B is the alarm-bell. U is the lightning-arrcster. D is the support for the telephone, which may be of any suitable form, and is attached to a metallic lever, E, ofthefirst class, which is pivoted in an opening in the block A and extends through the said block. The rear end of this lever is provided with a hook, S, to which is attached one end of a spring, F, which is fixed at the other end to the block A below the lever, and acts to draw the rear end of the lever down; but this spring must not be so strong as to overcome the action of the weight of the telephone, which weight, when the telephone is placed on its support, causes the rear end of the lever to be elevated against the force of the spring F.

G is a flat metallic spring, which is fixed at its upper end upon the back of the block, and extends downward, so that the rear end of the lever E makes contact with it when said end is elevated by the action of the weight of the telephone, and H H are two fiat metallic springs, lixed at their lower ends to the block A, and opposed at their upper ends to the lower end of the spring G, but not in contact therewith, and at such a distance therefrom that the rear end of the lever E will make contact with the free upper ends of said springs, when, on the removal of the telephone from its support, the rearend of the lever E is drawn down by the action of the spring F. The object of this arrangement is to secure a different electrical connection when the rear end of the lever E is elevated and when the rear end of the lever E is depressed, as in the patent to Thomas A. Watson, before referred to, and any other device which will accomplish the same result may he used.

In Fig. 2 the upper ends of the springs H H are shown in dotted lines for the purpose of showing that part of the bar I which lies behind them. This bar I is made of metal, and slides in a groove in the back of the block A at right angles to the springs (iand II 11,

and behind these springs, and in such a position that when the rear end of the lever E is depressed on the removal of the telephone from its support, the lower side of the lever will rest upon the upper edge of the bar I. A part of the upper edge at this point is cut away at angles, as shown at I), and beyond this inclined part is a notch, 0, into which a projection, (1,011 the under side of the lever E falls when the inner end of the lever E is depressed, and the bar I is pushed inward in the direction of the arrow and holds said bar in its position against the action of the spring K, which acts to force the bar outward, and by the action of which the said bar is restored to its normal. position when the projection to is removed from the notch con the bar I. Upon the face of the bar I. are two depressions, d- (I, one on each side of the projection (t, and L L are two springs, one of which, L, is in contact at its extremity wit-h the surface of the bar I when the latter is in the position shown in the drawings, and the other spring, L, when the bar is in the same position, is prevented from making contact with the bar by being over the depressed surface. When the bar 1 is pushed inward the spring ii is over a depressirm and the spring la is in contact with the surface of the bar.

Instead of providing depressions in the surface of the bar, that part of the bar where these depressions would be situated may have a surface of some insulating material.

The electrical connections are as follows: The spring L is connected with the line in, the spring L to thespring G, which latter is connected to the line out, one of the springs .11 to one pole of the telephone, which has its other poleconnected to the earth, and in case a local battery and transmitter are used these springs form the terminals of the opposite poles of this battery. The lever E is in permanent electrical connection with the bar I, as shown in the diagram, Fig. 4-, and in Fig. 6, by means of a liexible wire connecting the lever 'E with the spring K. The permanent electrical connection of the parts E and .1. may, however, be effected in any other ordinary or suitable way. It will thus be seen that when the bar or switch I is in its normal position and the extremity of the lever E is in contact with the. spring (.i, by reason of the telephone being upon its support, line in and line out will be connected at the station, and the telephone will be cut out, and when the telephone is removed from its support the end of the lever E will make contact with the springs ll ii, and the line in will thus beeonnected throughthe telephone to earth. ()n moving the bar or switch lv inward the spring" L will come into contact with the bar and the end of the spring L will break contact with said bar, and consequently, when the telephone is removed from its support, the

line out will be connected through the telephone to earth; but when the telephone is replaced on its support the bar I will return to its normal position by the release of the projection a from the notch c on said bar.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a district-telephone system, a switch adapted for use at an intermediate station and forming a support for a telephone, thereby caused to connect line in with line out, and, when the telephone is removed from its support, acting automatically when in its normal position to always connectthe telephone to line in and the central ofiice, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. Aswitch operating by the weightof the telephone, and normally acting on the removal of the telephone from its support to connect the telephone to line in and the central ollice, in combination with an auxiliary switch, which can be moved at will to change the circuit, so that the removal of the telephone from its support will connect the telephone to line out, and which auton'iatically returns to its normal position on the replacement of the telephone on its support, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the lever E, having a support for a telephoneattached thereto, and acting, when the telephoneis placed on its support, to establish aconnection between line in and line out, and, when the telephone is removed from its support, to connect the telephone to the line, of the contacts L L, connected, respectively, to linciu and lineout, and the sliding bar I, in its normal position, in connection with the contact L, and capable of being moved so as to disconnect from contact L aml connect with contact L, held in said position by the depressed lever E, and automatically returning to its normal position when the end of the lever E is elevated, substantially as and for the purpose set iibrth.

t, The combination of the pivoted lever E, having a support for a telephone attached thereto, and provided on its under side with a projection, (r, the retractirig-spring- F, sprime, G, connected to line out, s nringsfl 11,21. telephone connected by one pole to said springs ll: .H' and by the other to earth, spring L, connected to line in, spring L", connected to line out, sliding" bar 1, provided with notches I) c, and with the insulating-spuces (Z d and the spring K, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of the SllllSCl'lblllg' witnesses.

(.l'EOltt-i-E LEE ANDERS.

Witnesses ALEX. L. .llAvEs, Guns. E. BURLINGAME. 

